Reunion

Yesterday, my family was awoken by a shocking news. My father's oldest brother's wife passed away at as early as 4 in the morning. She died in her hometown, Terengganu. After hearing the news, my family together with my father's sister drove to Terengganu.

Actually, my uncle and his family went back to Terengganu from KL to visit my grandfather. Little did they know that the trip was going to be more than that.

When we arrived my aunt's family home in Terengganu, I saw my cousin, who is the youngest son of my uncle and his wife. Just by looking at him, I felt like crying. My cousin is a special need child. He is not disabled in any way, but his mind doesn't develop like ours. No matter how old he gets, he is childlike. That's my aunt's explanation to his condition. Even so, he is a very polite young man. With his mother gone, we don't know how his life would be.

When we entered the house, we were greeted by my long lost cousin, the daughter of the deceased. That's when I started to cry. Then, I finally got to meet the cousin I mentioned earlier. We just hugged without saying much.

In Islam, the funeral has to take place as soon as possible. But, my uncle decided to wait until about 4 pm as his eldest son would be coming. He is also the eldest grandchild of the Wan family. My cousin had been in hiding for 10 years or more. The news that he would be coming excited everyone. Even my father could not wait to finally see him again.

The highlight of the day was when my cousin finally appeared. He looked as handsome as we remembered, but too skinny. My sisters and I were thrilled to see him, but we didn't get the chance to talk to him. He spoke briefly to my grandfather though and that made my grandfather happy.

We spent the night at my grandfather's. He said that if this didn't happen, we wouldn't be in Terengganu spending time with him. Even my eldest cousin wouldn't be there. What he said made me feel guilty somehow. But it has truth in it.

All three of my aunt's children were present at her funeral. All of my siblings were there, too. Only two of my uncles were not there due to work. It's funny how something like this has to happen for the family to be united again.